We'd been looking for a "hypo-allergenic" dog for about a month, looking online every week and visiting a few rescue centers, but the competition is stiff for cute long-haired dogs and we just weren't having any luck. We saw "Whiskers" photo on Petfinder.com and decided he was just silly looking enough to make it worth a drive from Oakland to Oakley to meet him. Joyce informed us that Whiskers was aggressive with other dogs, and we almost left HALO without him for fear that we just wouldn't know how to handle an aggressive dog.
Well, Joyce really knows how to pick a couple of suckers, and she got to work right away, inviting us inside for refreshments, chatting us up, and telling us Whiskers' story. While Joyce was effortlessly charming the socks off of us, Whiskers was bouncing around her living room, leaping from one dog bed to another and neatly rearranging every toy and stuffed animal in the room. Freed from the nervousness of meeting us 20 minutes earlier, his intelligence and playfullness were revealed while we watched. We were hooked within minutes. We drove him home, named him Roody, and the rest is history in the making!
We're working with a trainer to socialize him with other dogs, but this difficulty is more than made up for by everything else about him. He's fantastic with kids, adventurous in new surroundings, and loves to snuggle in bed. He's also a great watch dog, as we discovered when a burglar stopped by the other week. Even his trainer gushes about how smart and adorable he is. Everybody loves Roody and so do we! Joyce said he's part schnauzer and part dachshund, which explains some of his anatomy. We also suspect there are a few other species in his mix somewhere: raccoon, skunk, baboon, fox, koala? How else to explain that crazy tail and those funny little feet. Thanks HALO! Thanks Joyce! Roody (formerly known as Whiskers) has definitely found his forever home.
Leslie and Andrew
